At the Fountain 1880

Henri-Pierre Picou painted “At the Fountain” using oils, and the techniques of academic painting, which he mastered in nineteenth-century France. Look closely at the way Picou built up the image. He used thin washes of color to create a smooth surface, almost like enamel. This was a time-honored way of making paintings seem timeless and idealized. The subject, a nude woman and cherub at a fountain, fits right into that classical mood. The goal was to make it appear as though the artist’s hand had little to do with the work, so that the viewer is drawn into the depicted scene and forgets about the labor involved in creating it. Yet, the very perfection of Picou's technique depended on a highly refined division of labor. Pigments had to be ground, canvases prepared, and brushes carefully maintained. And while Picou signed this painting, many hands contributed indirectly to its creation. By attending to these material facts, we can appreciate not just the image, but also the complex social world that made it possible.